Take up your cross

“Take up your cross and follow the Lord.” These words are not easy to hear. They make you feel like you are going to have a life of sacrifice. They make you think of a pilgrim paved with suffering and hardship. The cross is a symbol of death and of the end. When I think of the cross, I think of the Lord’s death but there is a hope. The cross is a new beginning. The cross is the end of suffering actually. It is the death of our old life, our old ways. The cross is not a negative symbol. We ought to look at it as the symbol of a great new start. Is the cross heavy? Is it hard to carry? It is. It is no walk in the park. Think about how Jesus had to carry the heavy cross and fall under its weight. I picture Him struggling and feeling weak. I picture Him barely making it.

 I wouldn’t be able to carry a cross for long without falling and I would hate to have to get up and continue. Are we called to such a bad experience? I believe we have to let go of some old habits and ways that are not the way we are supposed to live. Letting go of them can be painful and difficult. You and I are probably still holding on to patterns and ways that are not the best things for our lives in Christ. We are all carrying a cross every day and we should learn to put an end to whatever is getting in the way of our walk with the Lord. Today I am inviting you to join me in this process. Let’s carry our cross and follow the Lord. We are in this alone. The Lord is with us. It is time we faced the music and renounced some of the old ways. It is time we renewed our minds and we rearranged our lives. Out with the old in with the new. Out with hindering habits in with the lifestyle of the Spirit.

I believe that the struggle of the cross is partly the struggle of the flesh. Our flesh is used to doing things its own way and most of those ways are not God’s ways. There are things we can blame the enemy for and others things that are just caused by the desires of our flesh. When we get saved, we get a new life in Christ. The Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. It is a great new start and we get very excited. At least I know I got very excited. However, we still have to contend with the flesh. We have to put the flesh to death so to speak. We have to suppress the desires of the flesh. We have to grow out of the habits of the flesh and grow into the habits of the Spirit.

 It takes will-power and it takes work and dedication. That work is the carrying of the cross. It is not always easy and it can be excruciating at times. Our flesh is weak but our spirit is willing and we should remember that every day. We are to yield to the Holy Spirit and let our spirit embrace Him. We are called to follow Christ and in order to do that, some things have to change. We are doers of the Word and not just listeners of the Word. My cross and your cross probably look different but they both involve a process that we need to go through. We can do it. We can control the flesh with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is up to us to go that route and set on a journey where our spirit is dominant and our hindering desires are under control.

Self-reflection and meditation are part of the process. I suggest spending time reflecting on our habits and our ways. I suggest meditating on the words of the Lord and seeing how His words reflect the life that He desires for us. Self-reflecting is a great habit. I think we need to reflect a lot more every day and not just accept things as they are. When we don’t reflect and we don’t subject our lives to the Word, we can miss out on habits that are not suitable to the Christian walk. This process has to be implemented with a lot of prayer and surrender to the Holy Spirit so that the enemy’s condemnation gets the best of the whole situation. This is not a guilt trip situation and a procedure of accusations. When we take up our cross, we take up the guidance of the Holy Spirit and we put ourselves in His hands. We carry hope. We carry peace. We carry love. We carry freedom. This cross kills the desire of the flesh and it gives life to the power of our spirit connected to the Holy Spirit. 

Freedom, rebirth and salvation are keywords here. We get free from whatever is slowing down our spiritual growth. We get a new lease on life by living through the Spirit. We get more of the fullness of our salvation here on earth. Every day I rebuke the temptation of the flesh. Temptation to be lazy with my walk and temptation to walk less in love. I carry my cross and I enjoy following the Lord more and more. Friend, we have an amazing Savior. Let’s be led by Him. Let’s put Him above temptation and above the flesh. It is a process so we have to be gentle with ourselves. We can get there. We will get there in Jesus’ name. Let’s stay strong and courageous. May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!

Suggested reading: Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27; Mark 8:34